The Colorado Association for Manufacturing and Technology (CAMT) recognized Cascade TEK’s Front Range facility in Longmont, Colorado this month for our innovative product testing services.

Innovation at Cascade TEK testing facilities includes continued expansion and dedication to providing test equipment that meets the ever-changing needs of the Cascade TEK customer.

“Making sure we continuously expand test capabilities is crucial to the success of Front Range,” says Cascade Vice President Mary Babitz. “Our customer’s test requirements are ever changing. It’s our job to have the test equipment they need to help bring products to market as quickly as possible.”

By mid-January our Colorado laboratory will add several new pieces of equipment:

• 2500lb capacity incline impact tester for ISTA package testing.
• 40,000lbf electro-dynamic vibration system. (The 4th vibration system to come on line)
• Free Fall Shock Tower

Front Range has acquired certification from the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA)for package testing, and provides a broad range of testing services for the automotive, aerospace, electronics, medical and packaging industries.

Our Colorado facility offers a wide variety of testing services, including vibration, shock, temperature and humidity, thermal shock, sand and dust, UV exposure, salt-fog, altitude, rapid decompression, g-force acceleration, IP (ingress protection)and ISTA package testing.

Click here to read more about our Cascade TEK’s Front Range laboratory in the CAMT newsletter!.

]]> http://www.cascadetek.com/shake-and-bake/2012/01/colorado-association-for-manufacturing-and-technology-recognizes-cascade-tek-front-range-for-innovative-product-testing-services/feed/ 0 http://www.cascadetek.com/shake-and-bake/2010/12/overview-of-cascade-teks-product-testing-services/ http://www.cascadetek.com/shake-and-bake/2010/12/overview-of-cascade-teks-product-testing-services/#comments Thu, 16 Dec 2010 04:12:00 +0000 admin http://www.cascadetek.com/shake-and-bake/2010/12/overview-of-cascade-teks-product-testing-services/ Here is our latest information on the new Cascade TEK Front Range, environmental, product testing facility in Longmont, Colorado.  This document will help you learn about Cascade TEK’s services, and accreditations as a full service product testing facility.

Our New Address:

Cascade TEK Front Range 

1530 Vista View Drive

Longmont, CO 80504

www.cascadetek.com

Download now or preview on posterous

Cascade-Tek-Front-Range.pdf (365 KB)

RTCA DO-160 will go to Rev G around December 2010.  No major changes, but Rev G will  have a User Guide that shares tribal knowledge for each of the 26 sections in RTCA DO-160.  Check out the FAA Advisory Circular AC-21-16F at www.faa.gov for information on the different revision levels of RTCA-DO-160.

Did you know? 

• The DO-160 test specification is a STANDARD for demonstrating procedures/conditions for aircraft equipment.  It is not an APPROVAL to install equipment on aircraft.  Approvals fall under FAA.  FAA encourages use of DO-160.  Boeing, Airbus, etc… tend to have their own standards/requirements.
• Section 23 Lightning Direct Effects:  Lightning strikes an aircraft once every 3000 hours in today’s world.
• DO-160 is actually a consensus agreement on procedures and test conditions.  Everyone on the RTCA committee must agree.  No wonder revisions take 3-4 years!

Cascade TEK performs DO-160 testing such as altitude, crash safety, temperature variation, vibration, waterproofness, sand and dust, salt fog, icing and fluids susceptibility.

Living in Oregon, we see a lot of bikes and bike racks around, and, thankfully, we’ve never seen any bikes fall off their racks or bike racks fall off their cars. What gives us this confidence? Testing of course. And custom bike rack testing is yet another type of testing CascadeTek offers. We shot this video in the vibration test lab to share with you all. Click  below to see how we replicate actual vibration bike racks experience while on moving cars.

From aerospace to consumer products, we can run Vibration to Thermal Shock testing on just about anything.  Our capabilities have grown over the last 17 years, please visit our Testing Services page for a list of them all.

The article states that, “Another reason a company might outsource their product is that they wish to have a third party do the testing. ‘A lot of companies that are instructing their vendors to do environmental stress testing usually want a third party to do the testing,’ says Terry Candlish, Work Laboratory Manager and Vice President of Operations, CASCADE TEK, Hillsboro, OR. ‘They want an unbiased party testing the product for integrity and strength, so that what is going to the market is a reliable product.’ ” The article goes on to further explain the importance of 3^rd party contract laboratories and using their testing expertise with today’s demanding and strict standards. The full article is out now and can be read here.

R&D magazine is a greatly respected magazine in the Research and Development arena and has been around for over 50 years.  We are quite flattered to be called upon for our expert analysis and feedback in the Environmental Testing world.  Visit our Environmental Testing Services page to read more about our world class testing capabilities and facility.

1. Save Time – Run Tests in Parallel
The test lab is ready to go. The equipment is dedicated to you, in good working order, calibrated and all the test documentation ready. Consider bringing multiple units to run a variety of tests at the same time. For example, start a Temperature Cycle Test on one unit and a Salt-Fog Test on another. This saves time and hassle associated with scheduling and administering the test in house. Outsourcing also a great way to handle overflow or back-logged test requirements. Running your tests at an outside lab will get the job done faster than waiting for the R&D Department to finish using the test chamber.

2. One Stop Shop
Often a testing program will require a wide variety of tests to be done in a certain sequence. A well equipped test lab will manage the logistics and schedule. If a certain test must be sent to another facility, the Test Lab has the resources to handle the coordination and keep the program on schedule.

3. Professional Quality Data
The Formal Test Report, or Test Certification document is the most important part of your test. Working with an outside lab gives you high quality, professional test data to release to your customers. This is also relieves you from time consuming paperwork.

4. Perform Only Accepted & Appropriate Tests – Consultative Expertise
An accredited test lab has a wide scope of industry and testing knowledge. Often test requirements are not well defined or succumb to “that’s the way we’ve always done it”. Reviewing the required tests up front with the Lab Manager can determine if a better or more industry appropriate test profile should be done.

5. Credible Results – Third Party Accreditation
Working with accredited test labs that are consistently audited by 3rd party organizations gives credibility to the test data and insures the lab is qualified to perform each test. For example, Cascade TEK is certified by A2LA, ISTA , and the Department of Defense.

For more information about the tests offered at Cascade TEK, visit our testing page.